


Lifeline

by anothermiracle



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-26
Updated: 2015-01-26
Packaged: 2018-03-09 04:43:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3236663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anothermiracle/pseuds/anothermiracle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Soo-Won's reappearance triggers the questioning of the meaning Hak's existence next to the princess. </p><p>Spoilers for Chapter 91 and 92</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lifeline

_He was so close. He was right where I wanted him. Right under my fingertips. I could have crushed his face with my bare hands right there and then!_

"-ak!"

 _So close. He hurt Yona. So close..! He hurt Yona..!_

"Hak! Get a hold of yourself!"

He felt a sharp pain cross his face, and his eyes widened. Who the hell was stupid enough to attack the Thunder Beast of the Wind Tribe? Turning towards his perpetrator, his mouth clenched into a snarl and his arm came up to rain hell on whoever disrupted his thoughts. To his surprise, his hand was caught by a much larger, more scaly one. His attention turned to the white-haired lad next to him. 

"Hak, you should go into the tent to rest. Staying out here will only infect the wound," Kija spoke, voice laced with concern and worry. His face was marred with scars and bruises. Hak figured those were caused by him and felt a slight pang of guilt. He nodded mutely, and started towards the tent.

Inside the tent, Hak laid down and closed his eyes. Bringing his hands to his face, he clenched them over his eyes and thought about what had occurred earlier in the day. 

_Soo-Won_ had appeared before him. The circumstances were muddy, but to Hak, they didn't matter at all. _He_ was there, right there for the killing. _He,_ who abandoned their bond - Hak's and Yona's - for the throne. _He,_ who killed his own uncle in cold blood. _He,_ who drove Yona - someone he treasured and loved - out of her own home and left her to die in the wilderness without a bat of an eyelid. A person who had drawn his weapon at the princess should not have been spared, yet Hak had failed to finish him off. 

Hak pressed the balls of his fists into his eyes. He wished he didn't remember the innocent days with the prince. The smiles they all shared when they were young were now tainted with blood and stained with unjustified crimes, accompanied with the thirst for power. The precious memories he had with the prince and the princess seemed almost unreal as he opened his eyes to the worn cloth of the tent above him. 

"Hak?" A soft feminine voice reached his ears. Hak sat up and found the red-haired princess entering the tent. Her eyes were guarded, but he knew her well enough to see the undercurrent of worry swimming in her amethyst orbs. She approached him slowly, one hand cupping a small bowl of water which she handed to him shortly after. Hak accepted it and drank, eyes never leaving the princess' tiny frame. She sat there, staring at the floor and Hak wondered what exactly she wanted to say. 

"Just spit it out already," Hak sighed. The princess startled and turned widened eyes toward him. In a brilliant display of pure naivete, she cocked her head to the side and gave him a questioning look. Hak's eyes narrowed at her seemingly relaxed shoulders. He leaned forward, his hand landing next to Yona's thigh and his face dangerously close to her. As if on instinct, Yona stumbled backward, her hands going behind her to catch her body. Hak's heart dropped to his stomach.

 _So she's scared now. Of me._

It was no surprise, especially after what had transpired earlier on. He had truly lived up to his reputation of a beast, and had not only unleashed hell on innocent onlookers, but also on his comrades. His shoulders sagged and he brought a knee up to his chin. The hand that had been near her leg went up to cover his face. He could feel his features contorting and his ears burning with regret. A pained smile played at his mouth. 

"Hey, Princess. I'm tired. You should go."

He could feel the girl tense next to him. He almost laughed. It was better this way anyway. She never belonged to him; never had, never would. Even at this point, she hadn't found it in her to push Soo-Won away. She still kept that damned hairpin and he would always, always, just be a guardian, and never a lover. 

_There's no way she would ever look this way. It's just a hindrance to her._ I'm _just a hindrance to her. Maybe I should just disappear. She has the four dragons to protect her now. It wouldn't matter if I was gon-_

"Hak."

He opened his eyes and slanted his vision towards her. Surprise caught him as he took in the sight before him. 

Princess Yona sat regally on knelt knees, her hands folded neatly on her lap. Her eyes were fixated on him, a determined streak shining in them. She stared at him for awhile before dropping her gaze. Slowly, she moved forward and her hands came to rest on his, never once making a sound. With a gentle grip, she pried his fingers away from his clenched fist and laid his hand flat. One hand cradled his and two fingers of the other traced the crease that stretched across his palm. 

"Someone once told me that this line right here predicts how long you'll live," she spoke. She followed it till it ended at the edge of his hand. She then closed her fingers over his, causing his hand to clench into a fist once more. Pausing, she took a breath before looking up at him. 

"Your life is mine, Hak. It belongs to me, and to my cause. Don't waste it."

Her eyes shone with unshed tears, yet burned passionately behind wet eyelashes. _They look like fire submerged in violet-coloured water,_ Hak thought. His heartbeat was racing in his ears and his blood was boiling in his veins. He breathed out shakily.

There was no mistake. His place was here, next to Princess Yona, daughter of King Il; the leader of righteous bandits, savior of the Kingdom. The meaning of his existence didn't matter - there was no need to put a name to it. Her guard, her servant, her protector, her friend, her lover - it was all yes to him. It did not, _would not,_ change his position adjacent to her. 

Hak shifted his body and faced her. His knees were tucked under him as he aligned his hands on the floor and bowed. 

"As you wish, Princess."

Later, when Hak was plenty rested and the princess was off scavenging for wood for the fire, he would look at his hand, before going out in search of the girl most precious to his heart. He would then hold her hand in his once more, and would smile at her, with her. And she would smile back, just as a mirror would.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me: another-miracle.tumblr.com


End file.
